Staying in Paris for an entire weekend may very well have been the best decision I have made on my European trip so far. Traveling with my friends Dave and Brian among others, it was our initial plan to only be in Paris for a day and a half. Once arriving in Paris, we quickly found out all of the trains to Switzerland were booked for the rest of the weekend, unless we were willing to pay over 100 Euros each. Fortunately for us, this gave us the chance to get a full weekend experience in one of the greatest cities in the world.
One thing I couldn’t help but notice while in Paris was the French people’s intense sense of nationalism. Obviously the first thing on our agenda after checking into our hotel was to see the most famous monument in the world: the Eiffel tower. Seeing pictures of this immense structure of brown colored puddle iron does not do the monument justice. This tall giant is more overwhelming then I ever could have imagined. Erected in 1889 for the Paris exposition at the World Fair, this tower was built to show France’s supremacy above other countries as well as to trump other country’s monuments. The tower is situated on the left bank of the city of Paris, right off the Seine River. At the time of its creation, the Eiffel tower could not be built in the direct center of the city because Paris was already very developed and industrialized in the city center.
http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Monuments-Paris/Eiffel.shtml
http://www.simplyparis.org/paris/paris-geography
http://www.paris.org/Maps/MM/
When most people think of Paris or France as a country, the first thing that most likely comes to mind is the Eiffel Tower. The citizens of Paris and France take great pride in the famous monument. Being the most famous monument in the world, this tower helps define them as a people. After the World Fair in 1889, the tower was supposed to be torn down. The tower gained such a positive reaction from everyone in France as well as people all over the world, France decided not to tear it down. This was a great decision by the people of France, and is a prime reason why they take such great pride in the tower.
After checking out the famous tower on Thursday afternoon, it was time to hit a bar to watch the French play Mexico in the World Cup. In the bar/restaurant we sat at to watch the game, it was obvious how important the world cup was to the people of France. There were no tables available to sit at, and barely enough room at the bar for all of us to sit. Everybody sitting at tables was turned in the direction of the television. Just about everyone was finished with their meals, but nobody was moving a muscle until the game was finished. Unfortunately, France lost the game 2-0. Directly after Mexico scored their second goal, the atmosphere died and everyone started to ask for their checks and quickly filled out of the place.
Before traveling to Paris, I did not realize how two totally different things such as the Eiffel Tower and soccer can ignite nationalism at the same time for the people of France. After visiting the tower on Thursday, the American national soccer team was playing Slovenia on Friday afternoon. Dave, Brian and I decided to see where in Paris the world cup would be shown on a big screen (in every big European city, every game of the world cup is played outside on a big screen television). To my surprise, the world cup was being shown right outside of the Eiffel tower on an artificial soccer field. Even though sitting on the soccer field felt like sitting on pavement, it was completely worth the experience. If you were to look up a few feet above the big screen, you would see the dazzling Eiffel Tower. Although there were a few hundred fans there; Americans, Slovenians, and neutral fans, there would be many, many more people there for a French national game.
The game ended in a 2-2 tie, which still left me with a strong feeling of pride for America considering the Yankees were down 2-0 at halftime. Feeling such a great since of American nationalism made me realize why the big screen for the world cup was placed where it was: right in front of the Eiffel Tower. In France, two of the greatest forms of nationalism are directly next to each other: the Eiffel Tower and their national soccer team (even though the soccer team wasn’t in France, the next best thing is a giant television to watch the France national team). After my experience in Paris, I realized why certain things are placed the way they are in a city. What could be better for the French people than the World Cup on a big screen directly under the Eiffel Tower? Answer: nothing.
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